Rail-fastening.



PATENTED'MAY 31, 1904.

' Y '0.B.NBUBAUER.

RAIL FASTENING.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 9. 1904.

N0 MODEL.

No. 7e1,e0o. v v I I Patented May 31, 1904. I

PATENT OFFICE.

CARL E. NEUBAUER, or 'oHIsHoLM'MINN soTA, ASSIGNOR or ONE- FOURTH TOMARTIN SWANSON AND CHARLES E OLSON, or orns.

* HoLM, MINNESOTA. I

.. f RAIL-FASTENING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 761,600, dated May 31',1904.

Applicationjfiled- March 9, 1904.

T whom it, ma wma a I Be it known that I, CARL E. NEUBAUE'ma citizen ofthe United States, residing at Chisholm, 1n the county of St. Louis andState ,of

Minnesota, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rail-Fastenings,of which. the

following is aspecification.

I This invention relates to rail-fas'tenings of i the type set forth inmy United StatesLetters Patent No. 719,950, and has'for'itsobject toprov de simple and effective meansv of this character which can bereadily applied and which when in use serves to prevent with-- drawal ofthe-spikes forming part of the de-' vice.

The invention has for its further object to provide a rail-fasteningwhich will not workloose by the vibration of the rails in the passage oftrains thereon, but, on the contrary, will be aidedin vibration. Y I

The invehtionfurther aims to construct a rail fastening which shall besimple in con- 1 struction, strong,durable, eificien-t in its use,

1and comparatively inexpensive to manufacure. I

To these ends it consists of the novel combination and arrangement ofparts hereinafter more specifically described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and=particularly pointed out in-the claimshereunto appended.

My improved rail-fastening includes a plurality of spikes each having ahead which projects laterally from thespike and adapted to engagetherail, each spike being further provided with a shoulder, whichis'preferably' formed on the faceof the spike opposite to thelaterally-extending. head, and a plate adapted to rest on thetie tosustain the rail and. having-slots to receive, the spikes, the

solid portion of the plate being adapted to en gage or be above theshoulders on the spikes. The spike ordinarily used for securing rails 1to the ties has many inherent disadvantages,

keeping its positiorr by such Serial No. 197,257. '(No'modeh) onceremoved, theycan not be advantageously replaced in'the. same openingsthey originally occupied, owing to the fact that they cannot obtainafirm hold therein.- To obtain a firm hold on the-tie,they must be drivenin a new place. -After this hasoccurred a number of times the tiebecomes so full of holes that a firm hold cannot be obtained'by thespikes,- and these holes become a lodgingv place for water, and therebycause thetietorot around the rails. Such ties, although otherwise sound,must be replaced bynew ones, which causes'a great annual expense formaintenance. Furthermore, ties made of soft Wood 1 cannot be used in-railways,-because a firm hold cannot beobtained in them by the spikes.My improvement does away with all these disadvantagesandprovides ameanswhereby I the spikes can beheld in place and against spective view ofthe spike-holding plate, and v Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a spike.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the numeral 5 denotes part of a cross-tie, and 6 aportion of a rail adapted to be secured thereto, the'rail being of theform usually employed in railway construction and the tie being of wood,either hard or soft, for, as before stated, the spike is securely heldagainst removal by means of the fasten ing even with ties made of softwood. The spikes for securing the rail in place (indicated by 7 )aredriven into the tie 5 until their heads engage the base of the rail. I

- In the form of invention illustrated in the drawings the fastening isshown as arranged for securlng the rail at a curve, there bemg threespikes employed 1n such a case, two on E the outside and one on theinside, to prevent the rail or rails from spreading at such point.

The spikes are held. against accidental with- Fig. 2 is a transversesec-- drawal by a plate 8 of peculiar construction, which will now bedescribed. This plate 8 is adapted to fit between the base of the railand the cross-tie and is provided with, a plurality of slots 9,extending in the direction of the rail, and with auxiliary slotscommunicating with the latter, but extending substantially at rightangles thereto and away from the rail. The slots thus form approximatelyL-shaped openings in the plate 8. The plate 8 is shown in the presentcase as provided with three of these slots, corresponding to the numberof spikes used, two situated on the outside and one on the inside of therail. The distance between the adjacent walls of the inner and outerslots is approximately equal to the width of the base of the rail for apurpose which will hereinafter appear. Each spike 7 is provided on thatface opposite to the laterallyextending head at a distance about equalto the thickness of the plate 8 with a shoulder 10 of substantiallywedge or steep bevel form, which tapers toward the point of the spike inorder that when the spike is driven into the cross-tie the shoulder willnot 'ofier material resistance to this operation. The upper end of theshoulder 10 is at a right angle to the axis of the spike. In securingthe rail the plate 8 is first laid upon the tie. The rail 6 is then laidupon the plate so that the edges of its base-flange will be in alinementwith the outer edges of the longitudinally-extending arms of theL-shaped slots 9, so that two of the slots will lie on the outside andone on the inside of the rail. The spikes 7 are then driven into theright-angular portions of the slots until their heads strike the flangeof thebase of the rail, it being understood that such rightangularportions are of such a length as to accommodate the shouldered portionsof the spikes. When the heads of the spikes strike the base-flange, theupper straight faces of the shoulders 10 will be flush with the upperfaces of the ties. The plate 8 is then'moved longitudinally of the rail,so as to introduce those portions of the spikes between the straightfaces and heads into those portions of the slots extending in thedirection of the rails. Any suitable implement may be used for thispurpose, and when the plate has reached the limit of its movement thesolid portions thereof will lie over the straight faces oftheshoulders10 of the spikes and effectually prevent the accidental withdrawal ofthe latter. To withdraw the spikes, the plate 8 must be moved in theopposite direction until the right-angular continuation of the slot 9 isover the shoulders 10 of the spikes 7, when the latter may be withdrawnby any suitable means.

I am aware that rail-fastenings have been made in which a locking-plateis adapted to slide transversely of the rail, and thereby prevent thespikes from being withdrawn, of which my rail -fastening, subject ofUnited States Letters Patent No. 719,950, is an example; but I am notaware that a rail-fastening has ever been constructed in which a plateis adapted to slide longitudinally of the rail for securing the spikesin place, as herein set forth. A rail-fastening so constructed has allthe advantages possessed by that set forth in my above-mentioned LettersPatent and has the further advantage, by reason of its movement in thedirection of the length of the rail, of not being liable to slip out ofpositive engagement through the vibration of the rails in the passage oftrains thereon.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is'

1. In a rail-fastening, a plate having slots at opposite sides of thecenter thereof, each of said slots having a branch at one of its ends,said branches extending at an angle with respect to the main portion ofthe slot, the branches of the slots at one side of the center of theplate extending in an opposite direction to the branches of theoppositely dis'posed slots.

2. A rail fastening, comprising spikes adapted to be driven into a tie,each of said spikes having a shoulder, and a plate adapted to rest upona tie and provided with slots arranged at opposite sides of the centerthereof, each of said slots having a branch at one of its ends extendingat an angle thereto, said branches adapted to permit the passage of theshouldered portions of the spikes therethrough, said plate adapted, whenmoved longitudinally of the rail, to have a solid portion thereof passover the shouldered portion of each of said spikes.

3. A rail fastening comprising spikes adapted to be driven into a tie,each of said spikes having a shoulder, and a plate adapted to rest upona tie and provided with slots arranged at opposite sides of the centerthereof, each of said slots having a branch at one of its ends extendingat an angle thereto, the branches of said oppositely-disposed slotsextending in opposite directions, said branches adapted to permit thepassage of the shouldered portions of the spikes therethrough, saidplate adapted, when moved longitudinally of the rail, to have a solidportion thereof pass over the shouldered portion of each of said spikes.

4. In a rail-fastening, holdfast devices for retaining the rail inposition, and a slotted plate shiftablein the direction of the length ofthe rail and adapted to removably secure said devices in position forretaining the rail.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

CARL E. NEUBAUER. Witnesses:

MARTIN SwANsoN, JANE BATESON.

